Reports from Spain indicate that Manchester City are keen on signing Sassuolo full-back Sime Vrsaljko this summer.
According to Sport, the Sky Blues have a plan in place to remodel the club when current FC Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola takes over at the Etihad Stadium, having been confirmed as Manuel Pellegrini’s replacement at the season’s end.
One problem area that Guardiola will have to attend to immediately is at right-back, where both Gael Clichy and Pablo Zabaleta are the wrong side of 30.
The former is a limited operator, whose main strengths are defensive, offering little going forward, while the latter is a fan favourite, but has struggled with injury over the last 12 months.
As such, the Citizens are looking for an upgrade, and the Spanish source report that they’re targeting the Sassuolo full-back—who moved to this year’s surprise package in the summer of 2014—as an ideal solution.
It’s hard to deny that Vrsaljko would represent an astute addition, even if his career hasn’t truly progressed as some might have expected.
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The Croatia international has featured 34 times in Serie A this season, contributing four assists.
He’s a versatile operator—able to play in midfield, giving him a further advantage over Zabaleta and Clichy—and this quality may well appeal to Guardiola.